NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reaffirmed the NBA's position on Josh Giddey amidst an ongoing investigation into allegations of his involvement with an underage female, which gained attention after a viral social media post.
On Friday, Silver joined NBA Today and initially spoke about the league's stance on the investigation and the handling of Giddy, saying,
“I can't think of many circumstances where we've suspended a player based on an allegation alone. Where there is a criminal investigation, we take a backseat.” Silver said. “I think this is the path we've consistently followed. There's an ongoing criminal investigation — Newport Police opened up that investigation, notified us — we then take a back seat. And that's where things currently stand. That's where things currently stand,”
“I can't think of many circumstances where we've suspended a player based on an allegation alone… where there is a criminal investigation, we take a backseat… That's where things currently stand.”
Adam Silver on the Josh Giddey situation.pic.twitter.com/iGFpxmP5zs
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 8, 2023
Silver reclarified the league's stance during the NBA In-Season tournament media availability on Saturday evening, as captured in a video by Robert Littal, CEO of BlackSportsOnline.
“When there's a parallel criminal investigation, we do take a backseat to the criminal, criminal investigation,” Silver said. “Part of it is just even for a defense lawyer who's representing a player, understandably protecting that player's rights and protecting that player in a, in a criminal context, that's their job to do that, that they don't want to waive certain rights by having the player in the first instance, talk to the league.”
He continued, “So we generally, we will work with law enforcement to the extent they'll share with us the information they have. We can learn from that. We gather whatever information is available to us that, in working, you know, alongside with a police department, in this case, or a DA, as long as they say we're not interfering with their investigation, we do what we can at the same time. But generally, we fall in behind any criminal investigation and then go from there.
Adam Silver says nothing will be happening with Josh Giddey until the criminal investigation is wrapped up. #NBA pic.twitter.com/BjT4PJh3lc
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) December 10, 2023
The Newport Beach Police Department opened an investigation into the incident with Giddey days after the NBA started its investigation of the matter.
A statement from the department about the investigation obtained by USA Today read, “The Newport Beach Police Department is aware of information being circulated online involving an alleged relationship between professional basketball player Josh Giddey and a female minor. The Newport Beach Police Department is actively seeking additional information related to these allegations and pursuing all leads and evidence to obtain the facts of the case.”
Since the investigations were launched, Giddey has played in several games for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was last active in the Thunder's overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
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